Indazoles bearing aryl groups attached at the N2 position have become increasingly prevalent amongst novel drug candidates.1-4. The primary aim of the research project proposed here is the development of a highly selective, palladium- catalyzed N2-arylation of unprotected indazoles. This goal is expected to be achieved through a comprehensive experimental and computational study of the catalytic cycle that effects the known N1-arylation of these heterocycles,5-9 and to aply that understanding towards manipulating the reaction components to achieve the desired N2- coupling. Finally, efforts will be made to ensure the generality of the method for a wide range of potential substrates. The successful development of this method would have a significant impact on the ease of synthesis of these important biologically active substructures particularly in a medicinal chemistry setting, allowing for the more rapid generation and screening of potential novel pharmaceuticals. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Indazoles bearing aryl substituents at the N2 position have recently become prevalent substructures amongst potential drug candidates indicated for the treatment of a wide variety of human health-related conditions including metabolic syndrome and hepatitis C. 1-4 The successful development of a protocol for the selective N2-arylation of unprotected indazoles, as proposed here, would allow for the rapid generation of a wide variety of these structures for biological screening and SAR studies, particularly in a medicinal chemistry setting.